Van der Poel arrives in Canada with a road world title from 2023, a podium at the Zurich Worlds two years ago on a course with more climbing than Montreal’s, three Paris-Roubaix, three Tours of Flanders, and a win on his return to the road, stage 1 of the Tour of Luxembourg. And he says his chances are slim.
« I think the course is just slightly different. Zurich involved a lot of climbing, but not with one long climb like the one in Montreal now. The fact that Pogacar isn’t participating doesn’t change much for me either », he told Cyclingnews. Tadej Pogacar is indeed absent from the road race.
The rest of the reasoning comes down to two organisational details. The World Championships are raced in national teams, without earpieces or radios, and the tactical calls he leaves to Dutch national coach Koos Moerenhout. « But I actually try not to concern myself with that too much. I just leave it to [national coach Koos Moerenhout] to make the right decisions », he said.
With no earpiece, de koers, the race, as they say in Flanders, goes back to being a matter of shoulders: you watch the shoulders of the man in front of you, and when they move, you move. At the front, I couldn’t tell you. At the back, I can tell you the information travels by hand: one man goes up, one man comes down, and the instruction arrives at the same time as the bidon. With us it came through the window of the team car, and you still had to be able to read the sports director’s lips.
Then there is what last Sunday already said about the same ground. Isaac del Toro won the GP de Montréal in a two-up sprint ahead of Paul Seixas, on much of the Worlds circuit. The two finished third and fourth in the 2026 Tour de France, where Remco Evenepoel was second. « I think it will still be a little too difficult for me. If you saw which riders were at the front on Sunday… », Van der Poel told Cyclingnews.
« You never know at a Championship; they can be atypical races. It’s in national teams, without communication, so it’s not like other races. I think my chances are slim, but I am looking forward to it », he added. Before coming back to the road, he had failed in his attempt at the mountain bike world title.
It’s true, we checked: Cyclingnews.
